


something had gone through me and out and i could not own it

by sapphfics



Category: Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) (2020), DC Extended Universe, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, F/F, Found Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Muteness, Post-Canon, Post-Canon Fix-It, Talking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:42:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22641250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphfics/pseuds/sapphfics
Summary: “G.I Joe is after me now?”“Don’t-don’t let him in-“ Cassandra says. “God, please, don’t. I can’t believe he found me.”“Who? Who’s found you—“And that’s when the door explodes. Harley screams, and runs to cover Cassandra.“Who the fuck are you?” Harley hisses. “This was a perfectly nice house and you just—““My name is David Cain,” The man says. “You have my daughter.”or: in which cassandra reveals her true abilities, harley quinn is introduced to david cain, and there is something like closure.
Relationships: Cassandra Cain & Harley Quinn, Helena Bertinelli/Dinah Lance
Comments: 17
Kudos: 319





	something had gone through me and out and i could not own it

**Author's Note:**

> *puts cassandra cain’s comic personality/origins and bop in a blender and makes a smoothie*
> 
> title is an anne carson quote

“You’ve not said a lot, ya alright kid?” 

The sun is low now, it’s getting dark. They’ve been driving for hours, drifting mostly, and they’ve successfully robbed two gas stations. But something’s different now. Through the light of the radio, Harley can see Cassandra. She is staring at her hands, and she’s so still that Harley had thought she was sleeping. She isn’t sleeping. “Thinking. What if social workers come after us? I can’t go back there, I won’t.”

Harley stops the car. “I’m a lotta things, kid, but even the most crooked cop in Gotham knows I would never hurt a kid. Not now. Especially not you, my apprentice.” 

“But you’re still a criminal, they’ll—they’ll take you away, and take me back,” Cassandra is getting anxious now, ducking her head down even though the road behind and ahead is empty and long.

“Cass,” Harley repeats until Cassandra finally looks up at her. “If they wanna come for you, they’re gonna have to go through me. Besides, me and the birds may have paid a little visit to those awful foster parent of yours and told ‘em not to report you missing else there’d be hell to pay. Bought us some time, I hope.” 

“Would’ve loved to have seen that,” Cass says wistfully. “They were such assholes.” 

“Well I’ll tell ya that Huntress shot your foster dad in the leg,” Harley rememberers, giggling. “And Canary gave him several broken bones. Then they were kissin’, ‘cause Canary had been asleep for twenty hours a day for four days after using her cry on Romy’s army, and he started callin’ them slurs and...maybe I broke his legs. Just so he’d shut the fuck up.” 

At this, Cassandra laughs. “You’re the best mo—I mean, the best mentor I’ve ever had.” 

Harley chooses not to respond. One day she’ll tell Cassandra about Lucy. But not today. 

-:-

They’ve broken into an unoccupied apartment and are sleeping quite soundly on a pile of blankets and stolen pillows when Harley hears the first gunshot. She recognises it as easily as she would recognise the sun. She pushes Cassandra behind her in her sleep. Cassandra’s eyes snap open, awake and alert instantly.

“Fucks sake!” She cries, jumping up. Bruce growls as he climbs off her feet, his back raised. “Who’s tryna kill me now?!” 

Cassandra isn’t making a sound, or moving a muscle. Harley’s never seen her look quite so scared before. It worries her more than she will ever admit.

The assailant knocks on the door, hard and fast.

“Open up, before I blow the door off!” 

“G.I Joe is after me now?” 

“Don’t-don’t let him in-“ Cassandra says. “God, please, don’t. I can’t believe he found me.” 

“Who? Who’s found you—“

And that’s when the door explodes. Harley screams, and runs to cover Cassandra. 

“Who the fuck are you?” Harley hisses. Bruce is at her side, guarding. “This was a perfectly nice apartment and you just—I’ve got no grievance with you so get out!“

“My name is David Cain,” The man says. “You have my daughter.”

And suddenly there are men with guns behind him and they are running towards them and Harley has the awful realisation that she hadn’t brought any guns of her own. And then she panics, as the men grab her roughly and shove her against a wall.

“Get away from me!” Cassandra shrieks.

“Don’t you fucking touch her I swear—“ Harley spits in the face of one of her attackers and he grins.

And then Cassandra breaks the guy’s neck with one kick.

And she takes the rest of the men out as easy as breathing. Harley hears the bones break and cheers from the sidelines. The men holding her let her go to try and beat Cassandra, but they don’t get within breathing distance. Through it all, David Cain stands, seemingly bemused, until Harley knocks him out by hitting him over the head with her mallet.

“Yes, Cass, go!“ Harley breathes. “Wait, where was _this_ when we was fightin’ Romy? Nevermind, explain later, we need to go!” 

Cassandra nods, and they head out through the fire, Bruce trailing behind them and baring his teeth. 

-:-

Bruce has his head in Cassandra’s lap, and is licking the blood off her fingers. Cassandra scratches his head affectionately. Harley isn’t sure where she’s driving, so long as it’s as far away from David Cain as possible. He isn’t dead and she knows it. She knows what it looks like when someone dies. Has seen it too many times to count.

“First,” Cassandra starts. “I only started to learn to talk when I was put in foster care. Which was...about two years ago. That man, David Cain, is my bio father and I was raised by him, but he never spoke to me. I was trained to kill, trained so my first and only language would be violence. I can’t read either. It’s why I can’t go to school. It’s too late for me to learn much, y’know? Anyway, I met a man with abilities who reorganised some of my brain so I can speak easier. Which is why I can talk now. But I couldn’t for a long time. And I can fight, but everytime I do, it brings me back to his awful house and I just feel awful. He sent me a knife for my last birthday. To remind me of who I was. Who I’m stuck being.”

Cassandra pulls the brim of her hat down more over her face. Harley wants to cry, but she can’t. This poor kid. 

Harley reaches across the dashboard and grabs Cassandra’s hand. “It’s never too late. You can change, Cass. You don’t have to be what he wanted you to be. You can be anyone you want.” 

Cassandra doesn’t let go. “Can I meet your daughter?” 

“How did you—“

“You had her birth certificate at your old place,” Cassandra explains. “I was wondering when you were gonna tell me, but I wanna meet her. If you’re okay with that.”

“Lucy lives with my sister,” Harley explains. “It’s a long drive. But I need a vacation, and so do you. Plus, my sister is off the grid completely. She’s gonna love you. And no one will find us. And if they do, I’ll call the birds. They love you, and I love you, and we won’t let him take you, okay?”

Cassandra wipes her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket they stole from a thrift store. It’s too big for her. But it’s still good. “I don’t normally kill, but I don’t loose either.”

“Men who try and hurt little girls don’t deserve to live,” Harley says. “Don’t feel guilty. They should’ve known better. They do. They just don’t care, so we gotta fight them. Besides, I hate loosing. My sister’s been tellin’ me Lucy wants a big sister to teach her how to hit stuff like her mom. Think you can help?”

“Little girl who likes hitting stuff?” Cass smiles. “I love her already.”

**Author's Note:**

> sorry if this sucks but i saw the movie today and looooved it but they screwed over my baby cass so here’s my attempt to fix it ig...so yeah


End file.
